United States President Barack Obama waits to speak at a meeting about the international response to the Ebola virus outbreak during the 69th session of the United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters in New York, New York, USA, 25 September 2014.
Photograph: JUSTIN LANE/EPA

The Guardian US national security editor points out that the Obama administration is putting out various and conflicting figures for how many Americans are fighting in Syria(and earlier this month the number was 100):

The White House has released this description of a phone call between President Obama and Turkish President Erdoğan. Obama praised Turkey’s work to host refugees:

The President spoke briefly today with President Erdogan from Air Force One to discuss our work together to counter the threat posed by ISIL in Iraq and Syria, including steps we can take to advance our already strong cooperation. The President praised the work Turkish authorities and local groups, together with the UN, are doing to care for the massive influx of refugees flowing into Turkey, including tens of thousands this week alone. Following President Erdogan’s meeting today with Vice President Biden, the two Presidents agreed to continue to consult closely.

Yemen freed at least three suspected Iranian Revolutionary Guard members on Thursday, Reuters reports. The three “had been held for months over alleged ties to a Shia Muslim insurgent group that has seized control of much of the capital Sanaa, a senior official said”:

The takeover by the Shi’ite Houthi rebels came hours before a power-sharing accord was signed with other political parties providing for the creation of a new government.

That effectively made the Houthis the main power brokers in Yemen, a U.S.-allied country whose political, tribal and sectarian turmoil poses risks to No. 1 oil exporter Saudi Arabia next door.

It was not immediately clear why the release, which the official said was originally part of a deal to stem the Houthi advance on Sanaa, went ahead. But it suggested the Shi’ite group was now dictating terms in the capital.

The release of the Iranians came a day after Yemen freed two suspected members of Lebanon’s Hezbollah group, the official said. Read the full piece here.

U.S. military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Iraq, using a mix of attack, bomber and fighter aircraft to conduct eleven airstrikes Wednesday and today.

One airstrike west of Irbil struck ISIL fighters and damaged an ISIL armed vehicle. Five airstrikes south of Kirkuk struck ISIL fighters, destroyed an ISIL tank, an ISIL vehicle and an ISIL Humvee, and damaged two ISIL armed vehicles. Five airstrikes west of Baghdad destroyed an ISIL Humvee, four checkpoints, a fighting position, two guard towers, and a command post.

Obama calls on Sisi to release 'those journalists'

The White House press secretary and senior advisors spoke to press aboard Air Force One as the president returned to Washington – he has now landed there, according to a pool report.

In his meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, President Obama said “those journalists should be released,” according to White House officials.

Obama and Sisi had a “frank discussion,” the White House said:

“The president discussed our ongoing concerns on Egypt’s political trajectory. They had a frank discussion on those issues.” Obama also stressed free speech and due process rights as well as concerns about human rights including the detention of journalists. Obama stressed “those journalists should be released.”

“The president did not have any interaction” with the Iranian delegation, the White House said:

“We didn’t plan to… There have been very regular, extended discussions during a period of days and they have been very technical in nature. … The president wants to let that work proceed.”

What threat did the United States eliminate when it destroyed sites tied to the so-called Khorasan group in Idlib two days ago?

“Officials are offering varied and conflicting explanations on the precise nature of the threat posed by the group,” writes Guardian US national security editor Spencer Ackerman (@attackerman):

Hours after Tomahawk missiles slammed into buildings near Aleppo believed to be used by Khorasan, an obscure group said to be focused on exporting terrorism from Syria, the US military described it as involved in “imminent attack plotting” against western targets.

Yet it is unclear what Khorasan was planning, how far that planning advanced, and whether the US itself was a target. Nor is the US confident as yet that it has either killed Khorasan’s leaders or significantly degraded any threat Khorasan may pose.

US officials, few of whom would speak on the record, insist that the US acted on the best available intelligence and expressed confidence in it. For days, several have resisted elaboration, citing fear of jeopardizing intelligence sources.

Senior EU officials have said “it may already be too late” to stop a Islamist terror attack in Europe as European members of Islamic State (Isis) return from Syria and Iraq, reoprts Guardian Europe editor Ian Traynor (@traynorbrussels):

They said the EU’s bodies and its 28 governments were under intense US pressure to get to grips with the menace represented by thousands of European citizens fighting in Syria, but that Europe was struggling to develop coherent instruments to reduce the risk of an atrocity.

“It is pre-programmed,” said a senior official involved in the policy and security debate over the chances of an attack. “We have clear signals that this is what the foreign fighters are doing. This is the main threat we are facing.” Interior ministers from the 28 countries are to meet in Luxembourg in a fortnight to try to come up with a concerted policy.

“The home affairs council is very aware and very frightened of this … The colleagues in the police administration just don’t know how to cope. They all fear this could be totally out of control. It may already be too late,” the senior official told the Guardian and five other European newspapers.

The Obama-Sisi meeting has wrapped and Obama has left to begin his return trip to Washington, according to pool reports. The White House has released a transcipt of a statement made by President Obama before the meeting:

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, I want to welcome President el-SiSi to New York and to the United States. And I’m very much looking forward to this opportunity to share ideas.

Obviously, the U.S.-Egyptian relationship has been an important cornerstone of our security policy and our policy in the Middle East for a very long time. This is our first opportunity face-to-face to discuss a wide range of issues -- everything from the Palestinian-Israeli situation in Gaza, to Libya, to the issues of ISIL, Iraq and Syria.

And so I want to welcome the President here and his delegation, and I look forward to a constructive, productive conversation.

Syrian refugees are helped by a Red Crescent worker as they cross the Syrian-Turkish border near Sanliurfa, Turkey, 25 September 2014. In recent days, Turkey has seen the ‘biggest influx’ of Syrian refugees since the start of the war three years ago, said the UN agency for refugees (UNHCR). Photograph: SEDAT SUNA/EPA

In this Wednesday Sept 24, 2014 image posted on the Nusra Front social media account, shows a fighter from al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front carries ammunitions, as they move their bases away from the civilian areas, in Idlib province, north Syria. Photograph: Uncredited/AP